Seahawks Reward Safety Earl Thomas with 4-Year Extension

Doug Pensinger/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- 2014 has been quite the year for Seattle Seahawks safety Earl Thomas. Not only did he win the Super Bowl earlier this year, now he's agreed to a record-breaking deal with the club.

The Seahawks have signed Thomas to a four-year extension worth $40 million. Thomas will receive $27.75 million guaranteed, and he will become the first safety to ever make $10 million a year.

Thomas' deal is well deserved: he's established himself as not only one of the best safeties in the NFL, but one of the best defense players in the entire league.

In his fourth season, the 24-year-old Thomas recorded a career-high 105 tackles as well as five interceptions.

The Seahawks defense is also arguably the best in the NFL and it was on full display in the Super Bowl -- against the Denver Broncos' number one ranked offense, Seattle held Denver to just eight points.

Thomas recorded seven tackles in the game, and with his new deal, he'll continue to make tackles for the team through the 2018 season.